Cutting pliers



Oct. 12, 1965 T. K. TONTSCHEFF CUTTING PLIERS Filed March 21, 1963 lwnwrop 7200K K. nurse/{EFF a WM ATTY United States Patent 3,210,844 CUTTING PLIERS Todor Kaniov Tontscheff, 9 Feuerbachstrasse, Frankfurt (Main), Germany Filed Mar. 21, 1963, Ser. No. 266,865 Claims. (Cl. 30250) This invention relates to a new type of cutting pliers, preferably for cutting electric cables, thick wires and armoring iron rods, and comprises a stationary handle provided with a first cutting jaw, a movable handle pivoted to the stationary handle, a toothed segment pivoted to the stationary handle and provided with a second cutting jaw arranged for cooperation with said first cutting jaw for cutting through a cable inserted therebetween, a ratchet wheel pivotally mounted on the stationary handle and adapted to be alternately rotated, locked and released by means of a wedge-shaped ratchet dog and an angular retaining pawl to rotate the cutting jaw of the tooth segment relative to the cutting jaw formed by the stationary handle, and a tension spring connected with said stationary handle and said toothed segment so as to move said cutting jaws into an open operative position.

This pliers construction affords a considerable cutting force owing to the special arrangement and design of its geared actuating members for the movable cutting jaw so that also thick cables and the like, for example also plastics and aluminum rods, can be cut through with relatively slight eifort.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a pair of cutting pliers according to the invention with handles closed and cutting jaws open for insertion of the material to be cut, and

FIG. 2 is a similar view showing the handles open and the cutting jaws compressed as they will be after termination of the cutting operation.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a pair of cutting pliers comprising a stationary handle 1a having a stationary cutting jaw 1 and a pivot 3 on which is mounted a movable cutting jaw 2 subjected to the action of a tension spring 15 and provided with a toothed segment 5. A movable handle 12 is swingably connected to the stationary handle In by means of a pivot 6 on which is also mounted a ratchet wheel 7. The ratchet wheel 7 is in meshing engagement with the toothed segment 5 and operable by means of a wedge-shaped ratchet dog 9 mounted on a pivot 8 carried by the movable handle 12. The ratchet dog 9 is actuated through the intermediary of the movable handle 12. Such operation is eifected by rotating the movable handle 12 in a counterclockwise direction until the upper surface of the ratchet dog 9 contacts a fixed stop 16, thereby causing the ratchet contacting extremity of the ratchet dog to be withdrawn from the teeth formed by the ratchet wheel. An angular retaining pawl 10 having an angle arm 10a for its actuation is mounted on the stationary handle 1a by means of a pivot 11 and likewise engages the ratchet wheel 7. The retaining pawl 10 is displaced from the ratchet wheel 7 by its angle arm 10a when the movable handle 12 is rotated to remove the ratchet dog 9 from the teeth of ratchet wheel 7. The nose-like stop 16 is located in the middle portion of the stationary handle 1a and above the ratchet dog 9. Another nose-like stop 17 is provided therebelow on the movable handle 12. The stop 16 serves to disengage the ratchet dog 9 from the ratchet wheel 7 when the movable handle 12 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction. The stop 17 serves to limit the movement of the ratchet dog 9 after the stop 16 disengages the ratch dog 9 from the 3,210,844 Patented Oct. 12, 1965 ratchet 7. A compression spring 13 is inserted between the stationary handle 1a and the movable handle 12 to force the movable handle 12 away from the stationary handle 1:: and a latch 14 is provided for detachably interconnecting the two handles la and 12 against the action of this compression spring 13.

The ratchet dog 9 and the retaining pawl 10 are so arranged and constructed that they can alternately engage in the toothing of the ratchet wheel 7 in such a manner that when the handles 11: and 12 are forced apart the ratchet dog 9 will snap over the teeth of the ratchet wheel 7 which is blocked by the retaining pawl 10, whereas when the movable handle 12 is forced toward the stationary handle 1a the retaining pawl 10 will be released and engage in the next tooth gap. By reciprocating the movable handle 12, the movable cutting jaw 2 can be brought into the cutting position, shown in FIG. 1, for cutting through a cable 4, the movement of the movable handle 12 being transmitted to the movable cutting jaw 2 through the intermediary of the ratchet dog 9 engaging in the toothing of the ratchet wheel 7, and through the toothed segment 5 meshing with the ratchet wheel 7. During this operation, the retaining pawl 10 is also in meshing engagement with the ratchet wheel 7.

When the handles 1a and 12 are forced further apart, the retaining pawl 10 is released by pressing the angle arm 10a and the ratchet dog 9 is likewise disengaged from the ratchet wheel 7 by the stop 16, as previously discussed. In the disengaged position the ratchet dog 9 contacts the lower stop 17 so that the ratchet wheel 7 is released and the movable cutting jaw 2 can open through the action of the tension spring 15 for insertion of the material to be cut.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

I claim:

1. A cutting pliers comprising: a stationary handle having a portion thereof forming a first cutting jaw; a pivoted element forming a second cutting jaw and a toothed segment; support means for mounting the pivoted element on the stationary handle; a ratchet wheel 'rotatably mounted on the stationary handle and adapted to engage the toothed section of the pivoted element; a movable handle pivotally mounted on the stationary handle; a wedge-shaped ratchet dog carried by the movable handle and adapted to intermittently rotate the ratchet wheel in a first direction with successive rotations of the movable handle toward the stationary handle; a retaining pawl and handle formed integrally therewith, said retaining pawl adapted to engage the ratchet wheel and prevent rotation thereof after each rotation of the ratchet wheel in the first direction, said retaining pawl adapted to move away from the ratchet wheel by moving the handle; and a stop means located adjacent said ratchet dog whereby, when the retaining pawl is moved away from the ratchet wheel by the handle, the wedge-shaped dog is disengaged from the ratchet wheel by the stop means as the movable handle is rotated away from the stationary handle.

2. The cutting pliers as set forth in claim 1 wherein the ratchet dog contacts a second stop to thereby limit the rotation of the movable handle relative to the stationary handle after the ratchet dog is disengaged from the ratchet wheel.

3. The cutting pliers as set forth in claim 2, wherein the retaining pawl and the wedge-shaped dog are biased against the ratchet wheel by separate springs.

4. A cutting pliers as set forth in claim 3, wherein a compression spring is inserted between the handles to assist the rotation of the movable handle and a latch is provided for detachably interconnecting the handles against the bias of the compression spring.

5. A cutting pliers as set forth in claim 4, wherein the References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

pivoted element is subjected to a spring bias located be- 10 MILTON S, MEHR, M, HENSON WOOD, JR.,

tween the stationary handle and the pivoted element.

Examiners. 

1. A CUTTING PLIERS COMPRISING: A STATIONARY HANDLE HAVING A PORTION THEREOF FORMING A FIRST CUTTING JAW; A PIVOTED ELEMENT FORMING A SECOND CUTTING JAW AND A TOOTHED SEGMENT; SUPPORT MEANS FOR MOUNTING THE PIVOTED ELEMENT ON THE STATIONARY HANDLE; A RATCHET WHEEL ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON THE STATIONARY HANDLE AND ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE TOOTHED SECTION OF THE PIVOTED ELEMENT; A MOVABLE HANDLE PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON THE STATIONARY HANDLE; A WEDGE-SHAPED RATCHET DOG CARRIED BY THE MOVABLE HANDLE AND ADAPTED TO INTERMITTENTLY ROTATE THE RATCHET WHEEL IN A FIRST DIRECTION WITH SUCCESSIVE ROTATIONS OF THE MOVABLE HANDLE TOWARD THE STATIONARY HANDLE; A RETAINING PAWL AND HANDLE FORMED INTEGRALLY THEREWITH, SAID RETAINING PAWL ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE RATCHET WHEEL AND PREVENT ROTATION THEREOF AFTER EACH ROTATION OF THE RATCHET WHEEL IN THE FIRST DIRECTION, SAID RETAINING PAWL ADAPTED TO MOVE AWAY FROM THE RATCHER WHEEL BY MOVING THE HANDLE; AND A STOP MEANS LOCATED ADJACENT SAID RATCHET DOG WHEREBY, WHEN THE RETAINING PAWL IS MOVED AWAY FROM THE RATCHET WHEEL BY THE HANDLE, THE WEDGE-SHAPED DOG IS DISENGAGED FROM THE RATCHET WHEEL BY THE STOP MEANS AS THE MOVABLE HANDLE IS ROTATED AWAY FROM THE STATIONARY HANDLE. 